Frances Tiafoe swears repeatedly at the referee after a time violation against Roman Safiullin in Shanghai
Frances Tiafoe could face serious punishment after telling referee Jimmy Pinoargote he “ruined the match” at the end of his third-round defeat to Roman Safiullin at the Shanghai Masters.
Pinoargote gave Tiafoe a time violation on Tuesday when the American number 17 in the world served at 5-5 in the final set tiebreak at the tournament in China.
After a long rally, which Tiafoe won, he walked to the line before throwing the ball into the air, with his serving arm at his side.
Pinoargote then issued a time violation, saying “I’m not buying it, it’s a second serve,” as an incredulous Tiafoe argued his case. It was his third time violation, so he lost his first serve.
“I threw the ball up, ready to serve. That’s the rule,” Tiafoe said in vain.
Tiafoe went on to lose that point, and the next, losing the match 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5). The American calmly congratulated Russia’s Safiullin at the net, before shouting: “F*** you, man. F*** you. Seriously, dude. F*** you. You fucked me’ at Pinoargote as he walked towards the referee.
After a pause, Tiafoe added: “You ruined the match. Great damn job. F*** you.”
He kept shouting at Pinoargote, telling him, ‘You’re going to be blacklisted from my matches. Never again. I literally had it in front of me today. Fucking insane.”
— Tennis Highlights (@TennisHigh61330) October 8, 2024
the drama at the end of the tiafoe/safiullin match pic.twitter.com/HftfltXHew
— Emily (@sportyandhot) October 8, 2024
According to the ATP’s 2024 rulebook: “Players must not at any time directly or indirectly verbally abuse any official, opponent, sponsor, spectator or any other person within the premises of the tournament venue. Verbal abuse is defined as any statement about an official, opponent, sponsor, spectator or any other person that implies dishonesty or is derogatory, insulting or otherwise offensive.
“Breach of this section will subject a player to a fine of up to $60,000 (£45,767) for each infringement for ATP Tour Masters 1000 tournaments.
“In circumstances which are egregious and particularly prejudicial to the success of a tournament, or which are particularly egregious, the ATP Supervisor may refer the matter to the ATP Members Fines Committee, which will conduct an investigation to determine whether (a) a serious violation of aggravated conduct or conduct contrary to the integrity of the game has occurred. The prize money earned at that event will be held by ATP until the ATP Member Fines Committee completes their investigation and makes a decision.
There was no comment on the threshold that Tiafoe’s eruption could reach from the ATP when contacted on Wednesday The Athletics. The tournament was not expected to make a statement.
Tiafoe did not speak to the media after the match, but sent a statement to The Athletics said: ‘I really regret the way I behaved tonight. That’s not who I am and not how I ever want to treat people. I let my frustration get the better of me in the heat of the moment, and I am extremely disappointed with the way I handled the situation. “I am a work in progress, but that is not acceptable behavior and I would like to apologize to the referee, the tournament and the fans.”
Any fine could also increase because, according to ATP rules: “A player may not use an audible obscenity while on the spot. Audible obscenity is defined as the use of words that are generally known to be profane and spoken clearly and loudly enough to be heard. Breach of this section will subject a player to a fine of up to $5,000 (£3,815) for each offence. In circumstances which are egregious and particularly prejudicial to the success of a tournament, or which are particularly egregious, a single breach of this section shall also constitute (a) a serious offense of aggravated conduct.”
Tiafoe earned $59,100 (£45,085) for reaching the third round in Shanghai, and reached the US Open semi-finals for the second time last month, losing to compatriot Taylor Fritz.
There is precedent for a player having a referee removed from future matches.
In 2015, Rafael Nadal successfully requested that Carlos Bernardes – himself embroiled in controversy this week after incorrectly calling a score during Monday’s event in Shanghai – be removed from his matches. That also had to do with time violations, with Nadal upset when Bernardes gave him two time violation penalties for exceeding the 25-second limit between points during a match in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
An ATP spokesperson said at the time: “These types of requests are not unusual, either from the player or the referee.”
Bernardes returned the following year as a referee for Nadal’s matches.
Tiafoe’s actual time violation incident will also be reviewed by the ATP, reopening a debate over how the shot clock and time violation rules are enforced.
According to the ATP rulebook, the chair umpire will commit a violation if the shot clock “reaches zero before the server begins his service movement.”
Pinoargote gave Tiafoe a first foul at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, which carries a warning but no loss of serve. He gave him a second at 5-6, 0-30 in the third, after Tiafoe coughed while standing at the service line, interrupting the start of his service move.
While that decision seemed borderline, Tiafoe’s failure to initiate a service move at 5-5 in the tiebreak – instead of simply throwing the ball into the air from a standing position – led Pinoargote to give another one. Although Tiafoe said he “threw the ball ready to serve, that’s the rule,” it’s the service move that’s cited in the rule book.
Tiafoe isn’t the first player to try to use the discretion built into the rule by trying to demonstrate his willingness by making a toss, but when he did, his batting arm was at his side and the toss was done casually , which suggests he didn’t. ‘It wasn’t his intention to hit the serve, but he was trying to gain some more time. This was Pinoargote’s assessment of the situation.
The shot clock, which counts down the allotted 25 seconds between points, was introduced to prevent players from taking too long to serve. Previously, it was up to the referees to enforce the 25-second rule in a less transparent and sometimes seemingly subjective manner.
This was initially replaced by a clock, controlled by the referee, which would start when the score was called after a point. In this case, referees might decide to wait before calling the score to allow applause for an exciting point, or simply for a particularly grueling rally. Tiafoe and Safiullin had been battling for three hours on a humid night when the crucial time violation was called, but the shot clock system in Shanghai is not at Pinoargote’s discretion.
Instead, a new system first tried after the French Open automatically starts the clock three seconds after the previous point ends, eliminating the chance for the referee to intervene.
At the ATP 500 Queen’s event in London in June, Carlos Alcaraz expressed his distaste for the system.
“It’s crazy,” the world number 2 told Sky Sports. “I have time to just ask for two balls and no bounces. I’ve never seen anything like that in tennis.”
Umpire Mohamed Lahyani had to remind Novak Djokovic of the clock system during his victory over Alex Michelsen in Shanghai on Saturday. Djokovic complained that he was given a warning for going over the allowed 25 seconds.
(Top photo: Zhe Ji/Getty Images)
